Rogers, Ginger

orig. Virginia Katherine McMath

born July 16, 1911, Independence, Mo., U.S.

died April 25, 1995, Rancho Mirage, Calif.

U.S. film actress.

She began her career as a dancer in vaudeville and made her Broadway debut in 1929. After starring in Girl Crazy (1930–31), she moved to Hollywood. Her first performance with Fred Astaire, in Flying Down to Rio (1933), was so popular that they continued the partnership in nine more movies, including The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935), and Swing Time (1936). She also acted in the drama Kitty Foyle (1940, Academy Award) and in light comedies such as Tom, Dick, and Harry (1941) and The Major and the Minor (1942). Rogers returned to the Broadway stage in 1965, taking the lead in Hello Dolly!, and she followed that in 1969 with a star performance as Mame in London.

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▪ 1996

      (VIRGINIA KATHERINE MCMATH), U.S. dancer and actress (b. July 16, 1911, Independence, Mo.—d. April 25, 1995, Rancho Mirage, Calif.), was a vision of elegance as her fluid dance steps wittily complemented those of her celebrated partner, Fred Astaire, in 10 unforgettable Hollywood musicals. Although she was better remembered for her wisecracking repartee in a string of light romantic comedies, she won an Academy Award as best actress for a dramatic performance in Kitty Foyle (1940). The golden-haired Rogers, whose career was carefully orchestrated by her mother, appeared with Eddie Foy's vaudeville troupe before winning a Charleston contest that would ultimately lead her to the Broadway stage. By the time she was 19, Rogers had introduced George Gershwin's “Embraceable You” and “But Not for Me” in the 1930 Broadway hit Girl Crazy. She made her motion-picture debut in Young Man of Manhattan (1930), in which she immortalized the catchphrase, “Cigarette me, big boy.” Her gum cracking and good-natured wholesomeness typified 42nd Street (1933) and Gold Diggers of 1933, while her stately beauty and sophisticated charm fueled the on-screen chemistry with Astaire in such films as Flying Down to Rio (1933), The Gay Divorcée (1934), Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939), and The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), their last collaboration. Her dramatic skills were evidenced in Stage Door (1937) and Primrose Path (1940), while her comedic gifts were showcased in Bachelor Mother (1939), Tom, Dick and Harry (1941), and The Major and the Minor (1942), in which her character pretended to be a 12-year-old girl. Some of her other 70 films include Roxy Hart (1942), Lady in the Dark (1944), and Monkey Business (1952). After appearing in her last film as the mother in Harlow (1965), Rogers maintained a busy theatre schedule, appearing in the title role of Hello, Dolly! from 1965 to 1967 and introducing Mame to London audiences in 1969. Rogers' autobiography, Ginger: My Story (1991), touched on her five failed marriages and explored her lifestyle as a Christian Scientist. She was also a 1992 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime achievement.

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▪ American actress and dancer

original name  Virginia Katherine McMath 

born July 16, 1911, Independence, Mo., U.S.

died April 25, 1995, Rancho Mirage, Calif.

 American stage and film dancer and actress, noted primarily as the partner of Fred Astaire (Astaire, Fred) in a series of motion-picture musicals (musical film).

      She began her dancing career in vaudeville and made her Broadway debut in 1929 in Top Speed. After starring in George Gershwin's Girl Crazy (1930–31), she went to Hollywood and began performing in movies, typecast as a flippant blonde.

      Her first performance with Fred Astaire occurred in Flying Down to Rio (1933), which was so popular that they continued the partnership in nine other films. Though best known for her dancing, Rogers preferred dramatic acting and in 1940 won an Academy Award for her leading role in Kitty Foyle. She also enjoyed a sure hand in light comedy and starred in such films as Tom, Dick and Harry (1941) and The Major and the Minor (1942). Rogers returned to the Broadway stage in 1965 when she took over the role of Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly and followed that in 1969 with a star performance as Mame in London.

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